World news done right
“Once U.S. forces are gone, only the region’s local actors will be left. And, nothing kills a toxic relationship—such as the one between China and North Korea—like proximity. For once, the United States might end up taking the role of a neutral mediator in any future conflict in northeast Asia. That is much to be preferred over being at the front of a potential nuclear conflict on the Korean peninsula.”
“Despite appearances to the contrary, the Sino-Russian alliance is not solidified. Moscow and Beijing just want a better deal from Washington.”
“If Trump does what Bolton and the others are warning, then America will look weak and it will become mired in another Iraq War. What’s more, threatening a world war with nuclear-armed Russia over humanitarian interests is a foolish endeavor of the sort usually reserved for navel-gazing academics, like former UN ambassador Samantha Powers, not a freewheeling businessman, like Donald Trump. “
“We now know from various accounts that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as former CIA Director David Petraeus, advocated an ambitious program of arming various Syrian rebel factions in the Syrian Civil War. Theirs was not a popular policy even among the Obama national security team. In fact, it was so unpopular that the Obama team decided not to make an official determination about whether or not to arm the Syrian rebels. In this murky area of indecision they hatched a plan for a limited program to move weapons from Libya into Syria through Turkey.”
“Today, Russia reminds the Left of the loss of their Soviet benefactor. Also, Russia’s abandonment of communism has automatically made it an enemy to the global left. Russia under Putin has reverted to its historical norms, in terms of governing. (This is not necessarily a good thing, because Russia was always a tough nut to crack for the Western powers — though it is still better than the communist system).”
“The United States cannot hope for the best in Russia. Policymakers must assume that Putin will retain his grip on power and continue atomizing Russian society. If that’s the case, then the Russian state will die with Putin.”
“Let Maas’s new world order of multipolarity and balance ring out. It’d save America much money and many lives, being able to hand off some responsibilities to capable allies. Unfortunately, though, the Germans are kidding themselves if they believe they’ll be able to achieve this in Europe – not without a great power backing their play (and that great power is notFrance). They will be forced to choose between the United States and Russia. I suspect that Berlin will ultimately end up in the United States’ camp.”
“The U.S. government must, therefore, begin increasing regulations on what are, in fact, American corporations that have begun ignoring their civic duty to their homeland. What’s more, the United States government must ensure its overwhelming influence over such corporations by expanding, rather than diminishing, its long-declining investment in federal research and development programs.”
“Ryan Gosling’s comments fall flat in the end. We can never forget how important the national interest is for our space program—or any national program—to succeed. America’s role in space should be celebrated, not diminished. The next wave of human space exploration is waiting to occur. It will only happen if the right incentives are offered and those incentives are the same today as they were in the first Space race.”
“In effect, the real “Axis of Evil” was none other than Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Iran. And, it’s not even really an axis. One must also include Turkey, which has done everything in its power to become a rival to the United States and a friend to both Sunni extremists as well as Iran.”
